This is a battle I have admitted defeat on. I went from owning a horse with a forelock like this:

To two with none. The appys mane is thin, and her foretop is the same. She's an appy, so I'm not shocked, but still sad. Then there is my arab. Long mane(now, after she got over being mal nourished) lovely tail, and a pom pom on her forhead

Appy

Arab

Thankfully the arab is bred to this guy, so I have high hopes for a nice forelock.

Yes, I wish I could get my horse to grow his forelock too. His tail is long but not thick. His mane is also thin but will grow...slightly. The forelock? Very short, thin and has not grown one millimeter in the two years we have had him. I don't think there's even enough to braid if I tried.

Wow! Some of the pics with the heavier drafties are incredible! With all the sticker burrs I have to deal with here though, I can't imagine the time I would spend on manes and tails. I already spend a lot of time on them. I think they purposely roll in sticker patches. I join the "it's genetic" club though. I have some with pretty decent forelocks and then I have one mare with a mane so thick it almost sticks out side ways when I cut shorter, but her forelock looks like a dang water color brush. I've given up on it. It's just the way it is. She also has the thickest tail in my bunch. You would think she should have a good forelock. Nope!

Well, I've never had to grow one out but I know a friend who needed to. Though I can't give you any "what to do" advice but I can tell you what not to do. You may already know this but I didn't until recently. Some people might tell you to band your horses forlock. Don't do it. Apparently that's what you do if you want to thin out a forelock. So, best of luck to you! (Just keep braiding it!)

Wow! Some of the pics with the heavier drafties are incredible! With all the sticker burrs I have to deal with here though, I can't imagine the time I would spend on manes and tails. I already spend a lot of time on them. I think they purposely roll in sticker patches. I join the "it's genetic" club though. I have some with pretty decent forelocks and then I have one mare with a mane so thick it almost sticks out side ways when I cut shorter, but her forelock looks like a dang water color brush. I've given up on it. It's just the way it is. She also has the thickest tail in my bunch. You would think she should have a good forelock. Nope!

It's not just the draft breeds. The Baroque breeds have the same problem. Between the sand spurs, cockleburs, beggar lice and beggar ticks that she picks up while riding, along with the sweet gum balls and twigs that they sweep up with their tales and collect in the manes from rolling in the pasture, I'm always pulling things out.

I've started to suspect that the "hitch hiking" seed plants secretly watch for the horses and then travel hundreds of feet to reach the horse if the horse doesn't get close enough on it's own.

That's one of the reasons I make no effort to keep the hair long on mine, but it just keeps growing in spite of the amount that gets pulled out whenever I groom them.

Folks, other than it appears to be the "look" that so many like (I've been threated when I mentioned cutting mine) it's really a lot of work keeping it nice, free of debris, unmated and without dreadlocks.

Of course this was about forelocks and that's the one thing that seldom has a problem.

You would think forelocks don't have a problem with stickers but mine seem to literally look for a patch and then dive in face first. I don't know if anyone remembers the Cameron Diaz scene in There's Something About Mary but that particular scene comes to mind A LOT as my crew comes in and everyone's forelock is sporting that look due to sticker burrs. The only one that doesn't seem to have that problem is my non forelock mare that I posted earlier. LOL! I'm all about shorter mane due to the maintenance. I even roach one. I do have one that I don't touch at all because he's just got a look that requires natural flowing mane. I don't even do a bridle path on him. Thankfully he doesn't roll all that much.

You would think forelocks don't have a problem with stickers but mine seem to literally look for a patch and then dive in face first. I don't know if anyone remembers the Cameron Diaz scene in There's Something About Mary but that particular scene comes to mind A LOT as my crew comes in and everyone's forelock is sporting that look due to sticker burrs. The only one that doesn't seem to have that problem is my non forelock mare that I posted earlier. LOL! I'm all about shorter mane due to the maintenance. I even roach one. I do have one that I don't touch at all because he's just got a look that requires natural flowing mane. I don't even do a bridle path on him. Thankfully he doesn't roll all that much.

Beggar lice and to a lesser extent beggar ticks are the only things that get on their heads. The plant tends to be higher up and they love to grab a bite as they go by. But combing them out of the forelock is much easier than picking them off their head (which is were they end up with the greatest number of them). It's the tails that kill me. They sweep the ground of anything that can cling to it. I trim it up some reduce the volume of debris and within weeks it's back on the ground again. Psychologically and physically the old classical Baroque breeds (e.g. Andalusians, Friesians, Lipizzaners, etc....for anyone who's not familiar with what's meant by Baroque horse breeds....there are several) are great to work with and ride, but grooming them is a lot more work.

However, if you want to increase your odds of having a LOT of hair go with one or a cross with one (or a cross of two )

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